The group contesting the siting of a gasification recycling plant in Derry are stepping up their campaign with the staging of a protest meeting tomorrow night.
Mal WIlliams who will address tomorrow night’s meeting.
Anti-incineration campaign group Zero Waste North West (ZWNW) are holding a public meeting in St Canice’s Hall, Eglinton at 7.30pm to be addressed by two long-standing anti-waste campaigners, Vyvyan Howard, a Professor of Bioimaging at Coleraine, and Mal Williams from Wales.
Gasification plants operate by heating waste to produce a gas that is used to generate steam.
Planning permission for the development, to be located in the Strathfoyle area, has already been granted.
Judy Logue, ZWNW vice-chairperson, said they were opposed to the development on environmental and health grounds.
She said the proposed plant was “huge” and it would deal with waste from six other borough councils.
She added the group feared Derry would become the “dumping ground” for the North West and it was the aim of ZWNW to make Derry the first zero-waste city in Northern Ireland.
Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has met with the group and said he wanted to be “fully informed” before making a final decision on the development.
The company behind the development, North West Region Waste Management Group (NWRWMG) said the scheme would was part of an integrated plan to boost recycling rates and lessen the environmental impact of waste as well as creating renewable energy and helping local councils avoid European fines for failing to divert waste from landfill sites.
A group spokesperson said the proposed development should not be confused with old-style incinerators and that gasification provided greater control of potential pollutants and reduced the amount of material which passed through the plant’s sophisticated filter systems.”
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